HIGHER EDUCATION LEADERSHIP IN STATE LEGISLATURES

The distribution of higher education leadership in state legislatures is examined. It is based on questionnaire and interview information from 285 legislators who exercise influence on education policy in the fifty states, and one-third of whom give special attention to issues of higher education. These higher education leaders differ from education leaders generally in terms of their experience, their location within the legislature, and their effort and relationships. What explains higher education leadership as much as anything else, however, is the nature of the environment in which legislators find themselves. In focusing on eleven states, where higher education is of considerable salience, it is possible to discern how environment combines with other factors to produce such leadership.